Wonderfalls is an American fantasy comedy drama television series created by Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller. The series premiered on Fox on March 12, 2004, and only four were aired before Fox canceled the show in April 2004 due to low ratings. The remaining nine episodes were later aired on Canadian network VisionTV beginning in November 2004 when it acquired all 13 episodes. The entire series was released on DVD in 2005. The show centers on Jaye Tyler (Caroline Dhavernas), a recent Brown University graduate with a philosophy degree, who holds a dead-end job as a sales clerk at a Niagara Falls gift shop. Jaye is the reluctant participant in conversations with various animal figurines – a wax lion, brass monkey, stuffed bear, and mounted fish, among others – which direct her via oblique instructions to help people in need. TV Guide included the series in their 2013 list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".

Cast and characters

Main characters

Recurring characters

Production

The series was an American production, filmed in Niagara Falls, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario (standing in for Niagara Falls, New York and environs), with several Canadian actors cast in lead roles (including the show's star). It was created by Bryan Fuller and Todd Holland and executive produced in partnership with Tim Minear. Originally scheduled to debut in the fall of 2003, its premiere was delayed until early 2004. When it finally debuted in March 2004 on the FOX network, Wonderfalls received positive reviews from critics, but had trouble attracting viewers. The pilot episode, "Wax Lion", received a higher Nielsen rating when it was repeated the Thursday after its premiere, and the show was moved from a Friday-night time slot to Thursday. There was little notice or promotion of the time change, and FOX subsequently canceled the show after airing the fourth episode. A fifth episode was advertised but never aired. Despite its cancellation, Wonderfalls developed a loyal fan base. A campaign spearheaded by fans, with an accompanying website, was launched, and several members of the cast and crew visited the site and encouraged the grassroots support. Immediately after the show's cancellation, its producers attempted to interest other networks, including The WB, in picking up the series and some episodes were shown in theatres in Los Angeles during the summer of 2004 in order to raise support for the series.

Planned episodes

Although the show's creators had intended for the 13 episodes of Wonderfalls to tell a standalone story, they discussed plans for second and third seasons in an interview and episode commentaries featured on the 2005 DVD release of the series. Among the projected storylines mentioned on the DVD:

Episodes

Fox aired the first four episodes out of sequence, although the episodes were produced in a different order than was intended for broadcast. The order below is how they are presented on the DVD release. The air dates for episodes 5–13 are when they first aired on television on VisionTV. There is an alternate version of the first episode "Wax Lion". It features Kerry Washington playing Mahandra and Adam Scott playing Aaron. On the DVD commentary, the creators state that both actors had to be replaced because they could not commit to future episodes. The alternate version omits Thomas telling Jaye at the end that he is going to marry the nurse. The scene was added because the network wanted the Thomas subplot resolved, even though the creators disliked the scene. It also omits a scene where Jaye throws a quarter into the fountain before any muses start talking to her. The network supposedly wanted an impetus for why the muses started talking.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 76% with an average score of 8.3 out of 10 based on 17 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Although the premise couldn't sustain the show beyond a single season, Wonderfalls' deadpan protagonist and witty dialogue offer a distinctive take on twentysomething angst."

Broadcast and syndication

Select unaired episodes were screened in July 2004 at San Diego Comic-Con and at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles. All 13 episodes of Wonderfalls were aired to completion for the first time on Canada's VisionTV beginning in October 2004. Wonderfalls was aired by the digital cable network Logo TV beginning in July 2005. Also in July 2005, the British network Sky1 aired the series to completion, though not in the original intended episode order. The Museum of Television and Radio held a two-day screening of the entire series on January 29 and 30, 2005.

Home media release

20th Century Fox released the complete series DVD set on February 1, 2005. The DVD set includes all 13 episodes; six commentary tracks by creators Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller, and actors Caroline Dhavernas and Katie Finneran on "Wax Lion", "Crime Dog", "Lovesick Ass", "Safety Canary", "Cocktail Bunny" (with Scotch Ellis Loring) and "Caged Bird"; a behind-the-scenes documentary, an examination of the show's visual effects, and one of two music videos produced for the theme song, "I Wonder Why the Wonderfalls" by Andy Partridge.